Wednesday, September 17, 2008

BEWARE THE MLMs



There are many liquid vitamin products on the market. But finding good ones at reasonable prices can be a bit of a challenge. You may already be familiar with some of them because there are many product promoters that use email gathering techniques and spam people. They sell products that use Noni berries, or mangosteen fruit, or acai berries. They use "as shown on TV" style promotions. I have gone to some of these sites to view their products. They have the usual testimonials and research that demonstrates the "power" of their products. The sites are very convincing...until you stumble upon their pricing. Then it gets a little complicated.

Their pricing is almost always about fifty dollars a bottle for 32 ounces, supposedly, a months supply. And depending on your level of income, that might seem like very little money or a lot of money. If you are only buying for yourself, well then its no so bad. But still, it comes to 600 dollars a year. Additionally, you find that in order to buy the product you must be a "member". And then, you are encouraged to "sell" the product to your friends. After all, you would be doing them a favor to let them in on this great product you have found. In addition, you will get a "kick back" on their purchases. Usually 10 percent or so. And of course, your friends are then encouraged to complete the cycle again and sign up someone they know. And more and more "kick backs" will go to them, and to you. Often they have pyramid charts showing how you can earn "residual income" for showing and selling the product to just a few of your friends. You went to the site to buy a good product and now you have become a part time sales person.

You have stumbled upon an MLM scheme. Multi Level Marketing has taken to the supplement industry in a major way. Some companies actually hire vitamin manufacturing labs to generate a "recipe" for their products, and then they become the distribution portal at the top of the pyramid. Some of these vitamins are reasonable in price. Generally they will come in a tablet or pill form. But for some reason, when it comes to liquid vitamins, the pricing is always high and difficult to justify.

Take, for example, a family of four. A fifty dollar mangosteen juice product requires you to buy 4 bottles every month, one for each member of the family. Suddenly you are talking about spending $200.00 a month for a vitamin supplement. That's when you close the page and go on with other things. And who could blame you. Buying supplements cannot be a major part of one's monthly budget planning, a larger expense than your cable and internet connection combined. If you can afford that, consider yourself one of the lucky ones.

But there are good products at less than half the price of these MLM products. And purchasing them can be like any other purchase. You find the product you like, you order it, it comes to you and no one insists you have any further dealings or get a monthly shipment, or that you convert your friends into customers. I have found some companies on the web that will do just that. Sell you what you want to buy for a price that is closer to $20.00 or less. That will cost you around $200.00 dollars a year should you want to use the product daily. I will post links to these some of these webstores here to give you a starting point. They will offer high quality products and not bother you to become an agent. Additionally, returning customers often can receive discounts, making you yearly vitamin budget that much sweeter.

One such webstore is Vitapal, pronounced vita pal. Take a look at this site, they have pages of organic liquid vitamin and mineral products from reputable producers. Once at the site, just key in "liquid vitamins" in their search box and have at it. There are products for kids as well as adults, and most require 2 tablespoons a day. Its a good idea to take a dosage in the morning in a glass of apple or orange juice or your favorite cold tea. Just takes a minute, and you can be on your way.

VitaPal.com - Discount Vitamin Warehouse. Free Shipping on orders over $100.





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